permaculture

["Michael Blazewicz" <michael@roundriverdesign.com>]

Britt et al,

I've been co-teaching a course for the past four years up in Vermont where
we convert diesels (cars, vans, trucks, and a tractor) to run on waste
vegetable oil.  We have a spring, summer, and fall course if you are
interested in coming up the students will convert your car over the weekend
- you pay for the parts.
http://www.yestermorrow.org/courses/mmbs/biofuels.htm   My co-instructors
and I have converted over 40 cars and have logged over 100K on WVO.

 

It is worth mentioning that we teach our students that current conventional
production of vegetable oil is highly unsustainable (due to conventional ag,
GMO's, soil water loss, overriding of food-lands for fuel, etc.).  Riding
your bike is a far better solution.  That said it is indeed a reasonable
transitional fuel and a good use of waste oil - especially if you are using
your car to travel for regenerative work...(and there are promising new
plants and methods of producing oil).

 

In cold climates, like NYC, you will want to install a two-tank system and
pre-heat your vegetable oil or go with a very sophisticated one-tank system
from http://www.elsbett.com/ (although these kits are designed for pure new
oil, not recycled fryer oil).

 

I am curious for more information about what Harmon wrote.  To my knowledge
SVO and WVO are less polluting than dino-diesel.  Less particulates, no
sulpher (acid rain causing), carbon neutral (at least in theory though we
know the ag footprint is still huge), and only slightly higher NOx (smog
causing).  If you have scientific data that proves SVO/WVO emissions cause
"much, much worse air pollution than regular fossil diesel" than I would
appreciate a citation or link to the data.

 

Best, Mike

 

Michael Blazewicz

 

Round River Design, LLC

Burlington, VT 05401

Phone:  802-279-0478

Web:  <http://www.roundriverdesign.com> www.roundriverdesign.com